1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to separable bottles, such as water bottles, beverage bottles, thermos bottles, or baby bottles, which contain liquid and are configured to be separable at a midsection thereof and, more particularly, to a detachable coupling apparatus for a midsection of a separable bottle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a bottle including a water bottle is a container in which drinking water is stored, and is configured so that a mouth is formed on an upper portion thereof to allow water or liquid to be put into or discharged from the bottle, and a cap or a plug is provided to open or close the mouth.
However, such a bottle is problematic in that its mouth is a lot narrower than its body, so that it is not easy to wash the interior of the bottle because it should be washed using a dish sponge or brush provided on an end of a stick like a chopstick, and hence it is not easy to hygienically use the bottle repeatedly.
In order to solve the above problem, technologies intended to detachably couple the midsection of the bottle are disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-1999-0064574, U.M. Registration No. 20-0288636, U.M. Registration No. 20-0350790, U.M. Laid-Open Publication No. 20-2009-0003800, etc.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing a typically conventional separable bottle, in which FIG. 1A shows the coupled state of the water bottle, and FIG. 1B shows the separated state of the water bottle. Here, the bottle, i.e. the water bottle is configured so that its midsection is separated into an upper body 11 and a lower body 12, with separated portions being fastened to each other by means of an external threaded portion 13 and an internal threaded portion 14.
The conventional separable bottle configured as described above allows its interior to be washed, sterilized or dried after the bottle has been separated into the upper body 11 and the lower body 12, as shown in FIG. 1B, when one desires to wash the interior, thus making it possible for the bottle to be used more hygienically and cleanly.
On the one hand, in the case of using the water bottle, the external threaded portion 13 of the upper body 11 is fastened to the internal threaded portion 14 of the lower body 12. An O-ring type packing member is fitted to a separating plane S at which the external threaded portion 13 engages with the internal threaded portion 14, thus enhancing the water-tightness of the water bottle.